Pus, Pus, Pus!

the infected digit

I have quite a painful infection in my middle finger (see above) which is similar in pain to an ingrown nail. Upon the slightest touch it flares and throbs like a lighthouse flashing in a storm and makes things like peeling potatoes or shaving very awkward. Thankfully it isn't an ingrown nail (I have had and cut one of those out myself in the past), what I have is known as Paronychia, which is a type of abscess that springs upon my fingers from time to time.
One treatment involves placing a 'wick' in the abscess in order for it to drain the gunk inside but there is a less intrusive method; Magnesium Sulfate paste (also known as Epsom salt). Simply put a dollop of it onto the affected digit and you are set to go. (Or rather the pesky infection is). After a few minutes you can actually feel the paste drawing out the pus, and it feels quite good. So good in fact that I actually don't mind the abscess setting up its pusy camp on my finger in the first place! Its definately not painful, not in the slightest.


My finger gets the paste

After repeated use of the Magnesium Sulfate my finger heals quickly with minimal fuss. Unlike the ingrown nail I once had on my toe, which took months of bathing followed by plenty of vodka and home surgery before it (painfully) packed its bags and left me in peace. (I don't recommend home surgery, its messy and stings a bit).

Quite Simply....Wales!

Win for me my boys! Welsh passion bleeds through my fingertips, and weeps into song.

Love Thy Hangover

And we would never do without them

The question on most folks lips every sunday morning after a night on the sauce is, 'God I feel rough! Why do I keep doing it?' Look around Twitter or Facebook and at least one of your friends will be putting this age old question as their status, while they hurl pretty coloured chunks into the toilet bowl. They will swear with shaking hands over frothing hearts that it will never happen again, that the love affair with alcohol is over, but it never is. And it never will be.
Do you know why? Because its worth it. Yes it is. No matter how long you spend with your nose almost touching the porcelain bowl, and no matter much your tongue feels like six month old roadkill, you will go and get sozzled again. And again after that. It is as inevitable as the dawn. You will deny it only until the pukee scabs wither and die and once they do, its time to ride the brandy again! (Or whatever floats your liver). It doesn't matter if you wake up with Gollum's uglier twin because after your system has kicked Mr Hangovers unsightly butt, you will be fit again to go about turning Gollum's uglier twin into another Johnny Depp lookalike.
Hangovers might sting a little but they are nowhere near miserable enough to dampen the good times that alcohol allow. Its a shame that after years of dedicated drinking, I no longer experience them but I have had some real bad ones in the past. Ive had ones that had me throwing up blood, to ones that have almost tipped my sanity over but my bid for the temperance society only lasted a few days at most.
Humans enjoy purging their bodies from toxins, only to batter their systems again and again with them. The hangover is part of the fun of drinking alcohol and people would miss it if it disappeared. I certainly do. I used to love feeling like death, then slowly feeling my body and soul come together again with the help of my mothers sunday roast dinners and a funny book. (Although to be honest my hangovers would in all liklihood be classed as 'medical emergencies' as I should have been hospitalised more than I actually was).
Mankind is a perverse thing, and feeling rough from booze is all part of the deal of being human. Alcohol gives us too much pleasure, relieves to much stresses for a hangover to be able to threaten any kind of abstinence. And sundays are so eye gougingly boring that we need something to keep us entertained.

100% Wales

Balchder Cymru!

Wales, Cymru fach, my beautiful country of birth is currently making Welsh rugby history after getting into the semi finals of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. We got through the 'pool of death' unscathed, almost beating the South Africans in the process and we beat a fine Irish side last saturday, (who themselves were playing well in the touranment).
So Ireland, Scotland and England are all out but Wales march onward! And this saturday (15/10/11) we face France, Le Bleus, in what is going to be a great semi final game of rugby. I can feel it in my Dragonbones! Can we do it? We are but one game away from being in the final of a rugby world cup, a mere 80 minutes! Can we do it? I am pretty confident that we can. I believe that my beloved Wales can triumph over the French and meet either New Zealand or Australia in the final. In my Welsh heart of hearts I have faith we will do it! Our team is young, fit and hungry. There is a sharpness to the boys that I can see even from thousands of miles away. It was there when Wales won the 2005/2008 Grandslams and its there again out in New Zealand.
There is a wonderful atmosphere in this country at the moment. Everyone is buzzing with excitement and anticipation of what could be should Wales defeat the 'froggies' this weekend. (And when I say froggies, I mean it only as harmless banter, certainly no disrespect is intended).
Wales the fearless! This is how we have played in this tournament, the youth and fitness making us fear nobody and giving us an edge. When you have youth on your side you will always believe that you are undefeatable of course; the young believe they are all immortal and there is danger in this as much as there is strength because it can lead to recklessness, but we have a few experienced boys in the squad and they will provide the needed discipline. We will be victorious!
And if we aren't? Well then its been a fantastic journey that has put the country in great spirits and Wales will have still proved that once again we are a rugby force to be reckoned with.
And I will say it here and now so that I cannot be accused of jumping on the 'I-knew-Wales-would-win-all-along' bandwagon further on down the winning road. We are going to beat France this saturday and make it to the final. And we can win that too. Cymru Am Byth!

I Sat Next To God Today

Some of the media were in full celebrity tongue shaft again yesterday becaue some singer, (her name has honestly slipped my tapping fingers) took the underground tube to her concert in London. One radio station even deemed it important enough to have an hours phone in about it. Yep, you read that right. Here we are on the ten year anniversary of having stormed into Afghanistan and all some channels want to talk about is some airheaded singer who decided to use public transport to her gig. Whoop di doo da! Hold the front page! Whip my bum with Ok! magazine!


This blog article is dedicated to her

To make it more interesting (im not sure 'interesting' is the correct word here), the station just happened to find a fan who was also on her way to the show, and *takes deep breath* sat right next to her idol! Quick! Pass the smelling salts before I implode all down my trousers!
Is this really newsworthy? Really really with a lemon on top? I know the world (or most of it) is currently obssessed with fame and worship celebrity like it was the Second Coming but even so, to dedicate a whole hour yakking about the fact that some singer (still can't recall the name) took the train to her gig is quite....well it just makes me want to bang my head repeatedly against a wall in frustration.
Thirty years ago this 'story' would have struggled to get more than a paragraphs attention in the papers, let alone get itself prodded for an hour on the radio. Our fault of course, we hang on every word celebrities say as if they have been passed on to them by God and scripted by Moses. (Obvioulsy I don't include myself when I say 'we', because I look at those 'afflicted' with fame in much the same way I look at some hapless sod struck down by ebola or dengue fever).
Oh well, I suppose if its what makes the masses happy, I shall just have to accept it and build the walls of my castle that much thicker to be able to ignore it better. I shall pray to the Holy Pike of Cenarth Falls for all of your televsion addled, earthly souls. The Pike doth bless you all!

The Song Of Heledd

My brothers were killed at a single stroke
defending the poor town of Tern.
The blood on the fields was as common as grass
and the hall of Cynddylan is burned.

** **

Cynddylan would ride into battle and kill.
His heart was as wld as a boar,
the enemy corpses were two layers deep
when my brother he rode out to war.

** **

Cynddylan he rode in a fine purple cloak
and he treated his guests like a lord.
Now his white flesh it lies in a coffin of black,
his life claimed by the vile Saxon hoardes.

** **

Cynddylan will never return to his hall,
it is dark, there's no fire and no bed.
I lie sick and feeble, and stroke the dark hair
that will never grow grey on his head.

written by the Celtic Bards for the Prince of Powys, Cynddylan who died in 655.

iBerry ~ When Life Gets Too Much

Soon the new iPhone 5 will be launched onto a public, eager for another toy to finger and cool! I like techy toys as much as the next nerd but when will all this end? Or is it at and end already? I mean just what kind of new bells and Apps can be added to mobile phones? I find it hard to believe anyone can muster enough excitement to get them to the phone shop these days because Smartphones are already filled to the pinging gills with everything you need.


The nuke app proved popular among teenagers

There are Apps for everything! Weather, news, money, temperature, blood pressure, fingernail growth checker, etc etc. (Okay I just made the fingernail app up but it will probably happen soon). What can Apple possibly conjure up for this new cell phone? How can they get better than they are now? Are Apps going to cook us dinner? Hoover the house? I would love one that can clean my deep fat fryer, horrid job!
Also, do we need Smartphones to be our personal assistants? Have our lives become so busy that we need a helping hand? Sure they are convenient and after a shaky start with my Blackberry, im enjoying iits many uses but I highly doubt my life would collapse into a shambles if for some reason mobile phones suddenly disappeared.


When phones were real phones

I had a brick like that one in the above picture and the only thing you were able to do on it was ring someone. *Shocker* I occasionaly wish for such simple times back again.

Remember Meredith Kercher

I was initially tempted to make this a rant for a different site, but having mulled over it with a rare coffee watching the sun rise lazily in the distance, I have decided to remain calm. This is a tragic story where a beautiful, young woman was murdered, and does not deserve to be ranted at and yelled around like those buffoons did last night when the verdict came through. (They had obviously decided to ignore the judge, who said this was not a football match).
Amanda Knox and Raffaele Soliecito were cleared of the murder of Meredith Kercher at around 10pm, monday evening in Italy. Both had spent four years in jail for the crime but are now free to go. A third man, Rudy Guede, is still in prison.
Now let me make this clear; the pair have been found innocent in a court of law and I have no complaint there. Justice would not be served had Knox and Soliecito spent twenty five years behind bars for something they hadn't done. My issue is with the authorites who totally bungled this case and the media who turned it into something similar to a Superbowl.
The televised circus I witnessed whilst sucking on a pint of cider were appalling, with people whooping like they were at a rodeo when the judge announced they were in the clear. I don't mind admitting that it left me feeling sad, awful that Meredith had been completely forgotten in the media storm. Im sorry but this was not the occasion for celebration and the victim became a victim twice over along with her family who are victims for life.


Meredith ~ never forgotten

Ms Kercher's family has said they feel "back to square one" and my heart genuinely goes out to them. (I feel I must write 'genuine' because ive seen very little genuine support for Meredith during all of this and I have altered my attitude accordingly).
And to add insult to injury, Amanda Knox is set to make a tidy fortune out of it with interviews, book deals and the movie that will no doubt be made (and that I for one will ignore). One US magazine had even paid for a private jet to whisk her off back to Seattle! (Unfortunately her passport has expired so currently she's on her way to London).
I am all in favour of compensating her and her ex boyfiend for what must have been a terrible ordeal, but all of these offers just proves to me how vulgar humnity has become. Meredith Kercher and Amanda Knox were close friends and I am certain that if this is true, the American is hurting over the loss of her friend.
So this is what I would do were I in Knox's shoes ~

1. Accept whatever compensation the Italian courts decide to give her.
2. Give half the book deal and interview money she recieves to Meredith Kercher's family and the other half to victims charities.
3. Avoid the television circuit and attempt to reclaim some form of normality. (Hard I know but doable if she wants it).
4. Never claim to be the victim. Meredith Kercher is the victim.

And most of all never forget Meredith.